Utah heads into the final day of the NCAA ski championships needing a good performance Saturday to win back-to-back national titles.
The Utes won Friday’s men’s slalom thanks to third- and fourth-place finishes by Johs Braathen Herland and Pierick Charest, respectively. Sindre Myklebust placed 11th to round out the event for the Utes, who earned 85 points to top the event leaderboard.
A 10th-place team finish in the women’s slalom meant that the Utes completed the day in second place overall.
Christina Jacobsen was the top-performing Ute in the event with a 14th-place finish, while Kaila Lafreniere came in at 24th and Melanie Dahlberg did not finish.
Colorado leads after three days with 415 points, with Utah close behind at 408.5.
The national championship will come down to the 20K freestyle mass start race, held Saturday at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway. The women’s race begins at 8:30 MDT, with the men’s race following at 10:15 a.m. MDT.